>> meanwhile a california woman who never knew her father received the purple heart and silver star he received during world war ii. he was killed during 1945 while fighting german troops in italy. four months ago the purple heart was found at an apartment building where his wife once lived. for some reason the family never knew about the silver star. yesterday the military presented marco's with a plakon takening the medals, something confirmed what a great man he was. love that. that's a lot of medals. bill: certainly is. have a terrific president's day. remember the greatest president. the answer to the nascar trivia question last hour. >> all on twitter @billhemmer. bill: how many times did the policy ther like the driver. >> danica. bill: win the daytona 500. >> i know the answer. bill: nine going back to 1958. >> i had a little help with the viewer.

bill: great to be with you, jamie. have a terrific holiday. >> thanks for the invite. "happening now" starts for you right now. jon: we begin with brand new stories and breaking news. jenna: a singing sensation final found dead. mindy mccready is found dead. what we're learning about a troubled life cut too short. also a leaked white house plan to put illegal immigrants on a pooth to u.s. citizenship. how it could complicate bipartisan efforts to pass immigration reform. breaking the glass ceiling at nearly 200 miles an hour. danica patrick's historic achievement that could make us all proud, women drivers, huh. no more comments like that from you, jon scott. jon: okay. jenna: it's all "happening now." jenna: jon never made a rude comment about women drivers. i was just teasing. jon: i never have ridden in

a car with you, at least with you behind the wheel. jenna: probably a good thing. hi, everybody, i'm jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott. we begin with a tragic tend to a troubled country star. investigators say mindy mccready died apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at her home arkansas. she rose to the top of the charts with its like "10,000 angels" and "guys do it all the time" before personal problems sidetracked to her career. mccready's boyfriend and the father of her youngest son died one month ago on the same porch where her body was found over the weekend. casey stiegel is live from the dallas bureau. her buy friend also took his own life, casey are the report jon, police are investigating it as a suicide. mindy mccready said this was something she simply could not get over. not longing a on "the today show", said it was one of the hardest things she ever have had to deal with. the 34-year-old music producer her soulmate and

caretaker of her two children. mindy mccready's life started spiraling out of control in 2004. the country star had tried taking her own life at least two other times. she had been hospitalized for drug overdoses, in and out of rehab. she had been arrested multiple times through the years for drunk driving, illegally obtaining prescription drugs, fighting with her mother, resisting law enforcement, and the list goes on and on. here she is, back in 2007 when she appeared before a judge in nashville for violating the materials of her probation at the time. >> i can only say that i'm sorry in the hope that you give me the chance to be able to make things as right as i can possibly make them. i can promise this court if i'm given the chance i will not make the same mistakes. >> reporter: sadly we know that was a promise she could not keep. just last month her father telling a judge she could no

longer take care of herself or her boys because of this substance abuse, jon. jon: so sad, yet the reaction is coming in from all across the entertainment industry, huh? >> reporter: yeah it is. social media blew up when the news of this broke. a lot of the country world taking to twitter. leann rimes sent this out once the news broke. my heart goes out to mindy mccready's family. i knew her well. it is a horrible tragedy. this from carrie underwood, i grew up listening to mindy mccready. so sad for her family tonight. many prayers are going out to them. legend winona judge who had her own very public battles with addiction tweeted unbelievable, and so sad. god be with the family and babies. surround them with your grace and mercy. sleep in heavenly piece, mindy. mindy mccready, just 37 years old. jon: such a talent. down a black hole of depression and addictions.

jenna will talk with our dr. keith ablow later in the hour. >> reporter: just awful. jon: casey stiegel in dallas. jenna: right now two influential republican senators out with new comments about the president's pick to be the next defense secretary. now the confirmation of former senator chuck hagel to head the pentagon seems more likely. senate republicans successfully held up the process seeking clarification about mr. hagel's views on israel and iran and pressed the administration for more answers about the deadly benghazi terrorist attack. chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel is live in washington with more details on all of this. mike, what is the latest from top republicans from the hab gel nomination. >> reporter: senator john mccain said what we've been reporting which is after this recess the senate will up the nomination and the expectation senator chuck hagel will votes necessary to be confirmed. his colleague, senator lindsey graham explained why. >> because i do believe the president has great deference. here's the question for of the country. can we do better than that?

i think so. the president chose a controversial nominee that refuses to sign letters supporting israel during the 2000 infin todd today. refused to iranian guard as terrorist organization. refused to sign a letter asking the e.u. designates hezbollah as a terrorist organization. >> reporter: graham called him one most unqualified, radical choices for secretary of defense in a long time, jenna. jenna: those comments out there. the obama administration not too happy about the comments and the process being held up. what is the administration saying about why it need the new national security team now? >> reporter: keep in mind the smart considering nominations for new secretary of defense. a nominee for cia director. president's new white house chief of staff offered this reminder we live in a dangerous world. >> between john brennan, the cia director and chuck hagel as secretary of defense we want to make sure we have

those guys sitting in the chairs working because i don't want there to be something missed because of this hang up here in washington. >> reporter: you won't see action this week due to the president's day recess but capitol hill sources say the hagel nomination will be likely taken up a week from tomorrow. jenna: we'll watch that, mike, thank you. >> reporter: thank you. jon: for more let's bring in byron york chief political correspondent for the "washington examiner" and fox news contributor. the ways of the senate can be confusing, byron but looks like the senators that voted to block the nomination to this point might not necessarily vote against the nomination when they come back in session? >> you're right. the hagel filibuster which started on thursday did not survive the sunday shows and the reason is because republicans were never united on this they were very divided on this. there were very few republicans who actually support the hagel many no nation. there were others who opposed hagel but oppose filibustering him.

then there were those who wanted to filibuster hague dwell on the merits. there were couple more like lindsey graham and john mccain who didn't want to filibuster on the merits but filibuster as a way to pester the obama administration to release more information about benghazi. there were all these different reasons and they didn't have any votes to spare. there were only 41 votes to uphold a filibuster. it pretty much fell apart yesterday. jon: is mccain the pivotal vote here? >> yeah, i think he was. because he had originally come out very publicly said, i don't think chuck hagel is the right guy for the job but he should get an up-or-down vote. i, john mccain will not filibuster him. then after a talk with lindsey graham he decided to talk with a group that was filibustering in an effort to get the benghazi documents. he voted to uphold the filibuster on thursday. now he says that hagel will get confirmed. so i think that there's no doubt that the unless some sort of new information comes out and the whole

situation changes, hagel will be confirmed. jon: i want to ask you this question, and then give you my sort of theory on it. why the did the president nominate chuck hagel to begin with? i wondered from the start whether this was a republican nominee whom the president knew would not be popular among his fellow republicans and it might somehow make the republican members of senate look small? >> and created those very divisions we were talking about. first of all the president nominated hagel because i think he thinks hagel is pretty much in the same place as the president on a number of major public policy issues and he nedded a -- needed a secretary of defense. i think that's what happened. i think the president underestimated the intensity of opposition among republicans. talking about all the groups with various positions. the biggest group opposed hagel on the merits. the problem with those republicans is, they have been delaying, delaying trying to find new stuff, in hopes one, one democrat would peel off and oppose

hagel. then they hoped maybe the floodgates would happen. that hadn't happened yet. jon: looks like senator graham, particularly lindsey graham of south carolina received information he wanted on benghazi. >> it is not really on benghazi. this was actually on a statement that hagel was alleged to have made about israel. and hagel's made a number of comments about israel in the past several years that have disturb ad lot of his detractors, among the or in the republican party. so this was a statement calling the state department an adjunct of israel. which really raised a lot of eyebrows among republicans. hagel told graham he didn't recall saying it. gram, that's what he says i will go along with it. jon: that was the rutgers university remark, rutgers speech? >> right. jon: thanks for clearing me up on that. byron york, from the "washington examiner". >> thank you, jon. jenna: a big story today, facebook hacked. a series of cyber attacks of

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jon: right now some new information on crime stories we're following. an idaho man accused of uttering a racial slur and slapping a crying toddler on a plane plane is out of a job now. joe ricky hunley's employer let him go after the charge of assaulting a minor. the company without refering to hunley by name said reports of one executive's behavior are quote, offensive and disturbing. drew peterson's legal team will make a last-ditch effort tomorrow for a new trial. it becomes before the ex-cop convicted of murdering his wife learns his sentence. the 59-year-old peterson son

faces 20 to 60 years in prison. written notes from the man who killed john len on none go on sale today. mark david chapman wrote four letters to his arresting officer. that officer is selling them online and is 66 years old and does not know what else to do with them. jenna: speaking of being online, there are new developments right now in the murder investigation involving oscar pistorius. the double amputee olympic track star known as "blade runner" who is charged with will killing his model girlfriend on valentine's day. julie banderas has more. >> more horrifying details in the brutal murder of a model allegedly shot by a south african olympic hero. that main nicknamed "blade runner" for the prosthetic leg he stunned his nation again accused of a brutal murder. reva steenkamp was not only shot four times through the bathroom door in the

bathroom of her boyfriend oscar miss tore russ. she was alive when she was shot and carried downstairs by pistorius. they found an overnight bag that she packed. no real motive has been publicly released local media is reporting the followinging that pistorius had mistaken his girlfriend for an intruder. authorities say that information did not come from them. they add there was no evidence of forced entry at the home of the pistorius who says he is innocent will appear in court tomorrow and face murder charges at a bail hearing the same day as the private funeral will be held for his did lover. as the first disabled athlete in the able bodied olympic games pistorius canceled his appearance in five upcoming races. the reason according to a statement put out by his management company, quote, to help and support all those involved as they try to come to terms with this very difficult and disturbing situation. jenna: julie, thank you. more information as we get it. jon: breaking today, the

fallout after facebook announced a hacker group targeted the social networking site in a series of attacks. while the company says there is no evidence user data was compromised it does raise fears about the safety of personal information on facebook which is possibly the world's largest collection of personal data. what happens if it ever does fall into the wrong hands? shibani joshi from the fox business network live with that story. shibani? >> reporter: hi, there, jon. a scary proposition, a billion users putting their very personal information online, possibly for the world to share, if a hacker does get into the facebook systems. now we did get the entertainment of that thought even though facebook came out and said no personal information was compromised but facebook did lead us to believe this is something that is going to happen again and again. the company on its company and corporate blog announcing that the facebook website had been attacked via cyberattack saying quote, last month facebook security

discovered that our systems had been targeted in a sophisticated attack. this attack occurred when a handful of employees visited a mobile developer website that was compromised. we began a significant investigation that continues to this day. we have no evidence that facebook user data was compromised in this attack and it is believed, jon, that reuters is reporting that the fbi is now getting involved but overall very scary sort of proposition considering the type of information that we all post on that website. jon: yeah. it looks like it wasn't just facebook that was targeted? there were others involved? >> it was not. this is another reason to be somewhat alarmed and to be hyper vigilant. i feel like i'm always talking to you guys i feel like i'm talking about being vigilant and social media. facebook said it wasn't alone and saying it was clear others were attacked and infiltrated recently as well. as one of the first companies to discover the malware we immediately took

steps to start sharing detailses about the infiltration and with other companies and entities that were infected. we plan to continue collaborating on the incident through an informal working group and through other means. facebook not only one recently attacked. twitter was attacked. 250,000 user accounts. "the new york times", "the wall street journal", "washington post" computer systems hacked by chinese infiltrators over the last few weeks. six months ago, linkedin got their passwords stolen for 6.5 million users. this is something that we're going to hear a lot more of. be hyper vigilant. don't put stuff you don't want on your facebook account. if you don't want people to see it even if the event of a cyberattack don't put it on there. that is the best rule and advice out there. jon: change your password frequently. >> all the time. jon: shibani joshi. fox business network. thank you. jenna: you find some pass woods and changing so much and you're constantly

resetting them? jon: that's my problem. jenna: you can't write it down because someone will get it. jon: i know. jenna: you need the james bond fingerprint thing for all stuff like banking and all of that. you don't have to remember anything. jon: i like that idea. jenna: we'll get on it. meantime the gop is blasting the president's immigration plan which was leaked over the weekend to "usa today", a surprising move in fact many thought. one prominent republican, marco rubio says if the plan actually makes it to capitol hill it will be dead on arrive al. the white house is saying it is just a back moon, a backup plan. we'll go in depth on this ahead [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation,

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jenna: some new information on the white house immigration plan leaked over the weekend to "usa today." it would put illegals on a

path to citizenship after beginning about eight years. it would require them to go to the back of the line behind legal applicants. the white house calls this a backup plan just in case congress doesn't come up with one of its own. but republicans like marco rubio blasted the plan calling it half-baked and seriously flawed and making it clear that if this winds up on capitol hill, it will be dead on arrival. joining us now, mercedes sclap, former media spokeswoman for president george w. bush and bret wilkes, director of the league of united latin american citizens. nice to have you both. let's start with the politics of this, mercedes. you worked for a president before. with everything going on with capitol hill right now, sequestration, gun control, benghazi, all of this, why would the white house choose to leak this now? >> i got to tell you leaks are very dangerous things t was very irresponsible move by the white house. we know that right now there's a very delicate negotiation between democrats and republicans to

really get this immigration bill passed soft when you have these sort of leaks it really complicates the relationship the administration has with congress. this is us something that the president keeps doing. what you have to think, from a theory standpoint, what is his political ploy? last week he insited four senate democrats over to talk about the immigration reform plan. has he invited the republicans? no, he hasn't. again there is no republican input on this leaked draft plan and he is really putting this whole entire bill into jeopardy. jenna: bret, staying with the politics for a moment, some believe what mercedes is saying this leak is in part to take away power from the bipartisan group of senators, take the power away from people like marco rubio and score political points by coming out with another plan if you will. what's your opinion on all of this? is this just politics at play or is there a real policy move here? >> well, not at all. i think there is a strong policy move. if you think about the first term of the administration,

the administration was roundly criticized with not coming forward to pass an an aggressive strategy to for comprehensive immigration reform. many criticized like marco rubio where is his plan. he plan was leaked and maybe was not best idea but now getting criticized again. i don't think that is fair. i believe you need bipartisan legislation to get through both houses of congress and there is no way a democrat-only bill will go through but this comes out as marker. jenna: bret, in your opinion, what you see here a leak from the white house better than what we hear about the bipartisan plan slowly coming together? for all intents and purposes is on a path that looks like it could be successful? >> i wouldn't say it is necessarily better from the standpoint of being able to pass congress but certainly there are a lot of things to like in the bill but it addresses the main points the bipartisan bill does, creating a pathway for folks here undocumented to become

citizens. having a plan for the future flow of immigrants into the united states and of course strengthening security which is something that republicans have definitely wanted to see as part of the bill and reyou nighting families. those are important points we long said are critical to have in this debate. jenna: put up some of that. we have some bullet points, mercedes, as well as bret said border security. the white house says incomplete. here are parts some of the plan. allowing illegal immigrants to become legal within eight years. they have to go through criminal background checks, all of that. they have to pay fees. learn english. parts of the white house plan, what are you your thoughts? >> this is much more lenient version than the bipartisan group has come up with so far. the other point we talked about the enforcement triggers which are incredibly important to really get this legislation passed through in both the house and the senate. so again, i really think that you got to look at these numbers. six in ten republicans support a pathway to citizenship.

however, if the president obama's proposing the plan, that it drops to 21%. among independents, president obama proposing the plan drops to 9%. jenna: you say the president shouldn't have a role at all? he is being criticized for being involved, not being involved or both? >> it is johnny-come-lately. he could have done this in the first two years of his presidency. he didn't focus on this issue. and now what the president needs to do is root from the sidelines and let congress take the lead. that is the way we'll have a successful passage towards this legislation on immigration reform. jenna: bret, does it matter to you where it comes from? whether or not it is bipartisan group in the senate, the white house? what are the stakes about where this policy comes from and what happens if it doesn't happen now? >> well, it has to be the bipartisan group that is going to move this forward if we hope to have a chance to have it pass in the house. it has to be a very strong bipartisan bill coming out of the senate, going toward the house with a lot of momentum. if it doesn't happen this

session of congress, both parties will suffer. i don't think failure is on option in this case. if there is failure to get this passed both parties will suffer. nobody can claim a win out of failing to pass a comprehensive bill. jenna: to finish up, some say if we don't get anything done by august or so, the window will be missed, believe it or not 2014, election year in the house. we're on a whole different cycle as everybody knows when elections start happening. >> that's right. jenna: great to have your perspective today. thank you very much for the time. >> thank you. jon: well a blustery winter day shaping up for the upper midwest as the east braces for a hard freeze. a look at current conditions and when we can expect to warm up. also, the arab spring, redefining relations with hamas. are u.s. allies aiding our enemies? we'll look at what it could mean for u.s. interests in the middle east ahead.

jon: a coldsnap across the east affecting places as far south as georgia and even florida which saw hard freeze warnings this morning. meteorologist maria molina was outside earlier where she verified, yes, indeed it is cold out there. she's coming to get warm in the weather center now. maria. >> thanks, jon. much nicer in here. we want to look at the current windchill temperatures across the northeast. it is still very cold. you will need a heavy jacket,

scarf and gloves today. it will be a cold day out. not just of actual temperatures but because of wind. when you factor in wind gusts over 20 miles an hour. it feels so much colder when you look at temperatures. it seems in new york city, philadelphia and parts of upstate new york, single digits what it feels like across burlington and the state of maine. a very brisk day if you will across portions of northeast. down in florida, much warmer than what you saw in florida. in the 20s in tallahassee. back up into the 50s, 60s in miami, fort myers and orlando. for flid deans that is very cold. 50's is chilly. by tuesday you're back into the 80s. orlando in tuesday on high temperature of 80 degrees with a lot of sunshine a cool day today for president day high temperatures in the 60s across the orlando. across portions of midwest, we have a new storm system developing. it has been producing blizzard-like conditions

across portions of north dakota, minnesota throughout the morning hours. it will get a lot colder out there. we'll today, in minneapolis in the 30s. the same in rapid city. by tomorrow many will see temperatures in the teens or single digits even if it gets that warm during the afternoon hours. tomorrow much warmer across new york city. 35 degrees for the high temperature. in the 50s in atlanta and memphis. otherwise just shy of 80 degrees in san antonio, a warm spot out there. by tomorrow, look at minneapolis. 70 degrees for high temperature. upper 80s in new york city. that is a sign we have a storm system today across portions of the upper midwest, heading eastbound. ahead of the system you will see winds out of the south. that will be pumping up warmer temperatures in the northeast. for today, blizzard warnings across north dakota and portions of minnesota. jon: wow! maria molina with a chilly forecast. >> thanks. jenna: we'll move overseas. peace in the middle east is a slogan we hear for

decades. as new secretary of state john kerry takes office especially when it means a deal when the israelis and palestinians. terrorist organizations like hamas are getting support from countries we now call our friends. our next guest says despite all of this, now is the moment where peace might be possible. daniel friedman is a chief strategy officer of the stefan group, a group who members led the most significant terrorist investigations in u.s. history. daniel, why this might be the among the chaos do you see opportunity? >> as part of the arab spring we saw a unique shift in the region. before arab spring iran was main patron of hamas. hamas is enemy of the united states. they didn't see hamas as anything but a tool to hit the u.s. and israel. jenna: hamas from gaza firing rocket into israel. israel is our own democratic ally in the region that is

the dynamic. >> hamas is terrorist group. it is recognized as a terrorist group not only by the united states but eu and countries around the world. it committed atrocities in around the world. most recently in bulgaria tourists were attacked. what happened in the arab spring, hamas shifted into iran's orbit to take on new patrons. those new patrons are turkey, egypt and qatar. those countries like iran are u.s. allies. jenna: why are they helping hamas? why are they patrons of a terrorist organization? >> they see the opportunity to weaken iran. how can we weaken iran? one way in syria they're taking another one of iran's allies which is the regime of bashar assad and second taking iran out of the orbit or taking hamas out of iran's orbit. jenna: so we see turkey, qatar, egypt, supporting hamas, a terrorist organization. in some ways we see that as

potentially positive because iran is not so much a factor but what's in it for turkey and egypt and qatar to listen to us and not support this terrorist group when they obviously, there's parts at that of that terrorist group they like the mischief it is creating? >> i think it is twofold. number one the u.s. has leverage over them, right? the u.s. central command, well the u.s. central command in the region is based in qatar. they like that and that is a big factor. turkey is a member of nato. in syria they called on nato for support. egypt gets military and other aid from the u.s. those are significant things. those countries have an interest reining in hamas. we have a lot of questions what their attention are. we don't know what morsi and the muslim breath hood intend to do. turkey with rising leadership, a lot of its old regional rivals are feeling threatened. they have a reason to want to make us feel calm about

their intentions. they show responsibility and they rein in hamas, that is a good sign for us. jenna: do they have reason to in a roundabout way support israel? because israel would benefit if hamas wasn't firing rockets into their country. >> i think we saw this in november when there was the, a battle between israel and hamas and it could have escalated into a fully edge ined war. that is what iran wanted. it was pushes its allies in hamas to do exactly that. then together with secretary hillary clinton and the state department and the president and the u.s. pressure, working with turkey, qatar and egypt, they forced hamas to go into cease-fire and stop kind of the attacks against israel. jenna: let's go to the potential piece between the palestinians and israel. hamas is important in the palestinian territories. it can be viewed, if you will as a political group in some cases depending who you talk to. how would secretary kerry in this new position have the opportunity to find common

ground between these two groups where there has been no common ground for decades? >> the first step obviously is for hamas to recognize the existence of israel. renounce terrorism. to take concrete steps. jenna: is that possible? >> if you're getting $400 million in aid from qatar and they say, well, listen, unless you stop terrorist attacks, unless you begin to make some dialogue with israel we'll cut back $400 million in aid. that's a lot of money. that might get people thinking. >> of all the hypotheticals you see, how hopeful are you, really? >> i think out of chaos there comes opportunity. in 1973 israel and egypt went to war. you would have thought this would be the last, who would talk about peace when two countries are at war. but secretary kissinger saw an opportunity to use the leverage the u.s. had over both to pave the way for peace. five years later there was peace. we do work all around the work. we look at groups in northern ireland. we look at groups in indonesia. every terrorist group has

pressure points. if you can find the pressure points and begin peeling off the outer rings of the support. people in the center are most idealogical, and they will fight to the end. if you pull the outside and find pressure points that is way to get to them. jenna: very interesting. contrarian point of view. easy to think kay why is breeds more chaos but maybe there is opportunity. thank you for coming on set with us. >> new. jenna: jon. jon: this is disturbing similarities with another health crisis that put the world on edge not long ago and likely spreading from person-to-person. our medical expert about the serious concerns about this new outbreak. she never seems to get tired of breaking records. what danica patrick just did at daytona that has put her in the history books.

jenna: next hour senator

john mccain turning the tables on "meet the press" host david gregory. the senator asking pointed questions about the deadly terrorist attack in benghazi. we have that today in our "news watch" panel. the 1993 world trade center bomber files a lawsuit from his cell at a maximum security prison. he is not so happy there. does he have a case? and tom cruise suing the publisher of "life and style" and in touch magazines after stories are printed about the star's relationship with his daughter. inside the $50 million lawsuit, coming up. jon: well, making history on the track. danica patrick becomes the first woman to capture the top starting spot for the daytona 500, let alone any race in nascar's premier circuit. this gender breakthrough coming at a speed of nearly 200 miles an hour. phil keating live in miami with details. so is she now the favorite to win the race on sunday? >> reporter: sitting on the pole does not guaranty you

become the favorite. however her odds of winning according to the vegas bookies today, a lot better than they were in december when they only gave her 125 to one odds to win the daytona 500. the two favorites among the bookies are dale earnhardt, jr., and kyle busch, both favorites of ten to 1. she drove a super tight 196.434 miles an hour, the first woman to sit on the pole in the kickoff race to nascar's sprint cup series season, the daytona 500. >> by a little more than ..3 of a second, danica patrick has made nascar history, winning the poll for the daytona 500. the first woman to do so. >> that is a really big deal because qualifying for the daytona 500 is an interesting thing because there is so much work that goes into this car and if you're anywhere but the front row, it is hard to see on race day. >> reporter: and like her

new boyfriend, fellow rookie in the sprint cup season, this year, she is only person to ever win an indy car race. that was in 2008 in japan. she is driving for daytona a chevy ss with a very impressive hendrik motor engine. very impressive. a lot of people talking about it in daytona, jon. jon: fabulous. what is the reaction from the rest of the guys in the field? >> it has been very positive. a lot of people patting her on the back and saying great things to her. i did mention she was the only woman that remains to win an indy car race back in japan but in daytona yesterday patrick, she really effectively hugged the track very low, reducing asphalt under her car and waited two long hours watching 37 other drivers fail to best her speed. >> congratulations to danica. this is great to be a part of hit. i can say i was the fastest guy today. >> that's true.

you're the fastest guy in town today. >> reporter: jeff gordon with a sense of humor up in daytona. a beautiful weather. it is crisp. hoping last year's rains that delayed the race till monday do not return. as far as patrick recognizing her gender-busting achievement she says, you know, i was raised to the be the fastest driver, not the fastest girl. going back in the history books, of all pole position sitters, going back to the '50s have actually won the race. jon: it doesn't guaranty. but it is better than being second or last. >> certainly a good starting position. jon: phil keating, thank you. jenna: from personing up the track to wildfires raging out of control, fast-moving flames burning across 12,000 acres plus. emergency warnings in place. we're live at the breaking news desk. plus we have a worldwide health alert with a new and deadly sars-like virus now

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jenna: welcome back. "happening now", wildfires are raging out of control in australia with flames destroying 12,000 acres. there are fears these fires will continue to spread. julie banderas live in the new york city newsroom with more. >> we're keeping a close eye on this one. it is a wild fire near melbourne, oust australia. it has destroyed one home and several buildings. around 70 firefighting units have been deployed to fight the monster as residents sit back and watch and hope the four doesn't spread their way. >> we were at the front and seen it start off over there to the north probably and about two or three hours it

took off and went everywhere. >> as you can see around it is totally -- so is the bush. a lot of fuel up there. the area in there has not been burnt for many, many years, some of it. it is just a, with this sort of weather which is unpredictable and lightning strike which is nature it is recipe for disaster. >> emergency warnings have been issued for the entire area. authorities say around 2,000 hectares so far. that is the equivalent of 5000 acres. firefighters in the west state have work cut out for them. they are battling two wildfires that merged in the area and destroying 8,000 acres at all. all together of 15,000 acres are ablaze. they worry extremely dry scrub and farmland ahead of the main fire front will make it difficult to control the spot fires. luckily no injuries because of the fires.

jenna: we'll take the good news where we can. julie, thank you. >> sure. jon: well the doctor is in and a new health alert to tell you about with a deadly sars-like virus. one just recently discovered in humans, now spreading. 12 people have contracted this infection worldwide. nearly half of the victims died from it. doctor leigh vinocur is a professor at the lsu health sciences center. it is related to sars but it is not sars, correct. >> yes, it is a different type of sars. it stands for severe accuse respiratory syndrome. a lot of times it is the corona virus. this is a different start of -- sort of strain in the corona virus. by the way this is the same family that causes a cold. the rhino virus is the most common cold virus but the corona virus is the second

most common. it is a new strain, or novel if you're virologist. it is completely, it is fatal if you're older and if you have a medical problem already. if you're young and healthy, most of these sars, corona viruses are not as serious but it is just still close contact, jon. it is not as infectious as the common cold or perhaps the flu. so that's good news. jon: we'll talk about the prospect for spreading in a moment but for right now, it is thought to have originated somewhere in the middle east because all of the early victims came from qatar, pakistan, saudi arabia, afghanistan, places like that. >> right. and everyone who has gotten it, the last person that got it actually had a close contact that traveled there. but they somehow are in close contact with someone that traveled there or they traveled to the middle east.

jon: right. the last two victims are british. but the thinking is that it does spread from human-to-human by droplets through the area. just like a flu or other virus, right? >> it is not as infective as that so it is close contact. people that live in the same house, sharing towels, sharing bed linens. that is why you shouldn't do that. you should disinfect areas in the house. so it's really just the closest contact, whereas so you're not going to see it spreading so much in an office situation. more in a home situation at this point. jon: so the symptoms you say are a lot like the common cold because it's a virus that comes from the same family. we have it on screen. high temperature, flu-like feeling mild respiratory infection. >> it is a mild respiratory infection initially. then what happens, especially in the elderly or someone with another medical diabetes, liver problem or respiratory problem, then it becomes a

pneumonia. when it becomes pneumonia, it can be deadly and life-threatening. you sometimes need to be put on a respirator when it becomes a bad pneumonia. jon: i will let you play the doctor here but i wonder about the spread of this thing, just because they have only identified it five months ago. you say it's not all that infectious but in this age of jet planes and around the world travel how do we know there are not all sorts of people out there carrying this then on many continents and we might see another sars outbreak? sars killed 800 people around the world. >> yes, you have a good point. that is how we first detected sars because it was spread through, but even in a plane, you know, a plane has the potential because you're recirculating the air but most of the officials said they would have expected a much greater outbreak in the middle east also if this was a more infective form of sars than the other type of sars.

so at this point, they're not seeing huge outbreaks even within the middle east. but like anything else, prevention is the key. this virus is hard to raise in a laboratory. so that is why we don't have a lot of good drugs now and there is not a vaccine at this point, even for regular sars, corona virus. so the key is hand washing, you know, masks that somebody is infective in your house, have them wear a mask. jon: we know that drill. >> for anyone taking care of them. jon: dr. leigh vinocur, thank you very much. >> absolutely. jenna: some new reaction from the white house after a plan for immigration reform is leaked. the obama administration insists it is just a backup plan. many are wondering why it was leaked in the first place. someone happy.♪ ♪it's so important to make someone happy.♪ ♪make just one heart to heart you - you sing to♪ ♪one smile that cheers you

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lawsuit and whether or not he has a case. is your home making you sick? some top doctors are saying yes, and the problem has been grieg thegrowing they say since the 19 70s. we'll tell you why and how to protect your family. tom cruise's $50 million lawsuit against a major tabloid publisher. our legal panel weighs in and some of the nasty words coming from both sides in this very high profile fight. the new political firestorm as we start off a new week, there is always another one. jon: ready for a second hour. jenna: got to go into the second hour, new political firestorm over immigration, the president working on a so-called secret reform of his own, although it's not so secret now because it was leaked over the weekend. welcome to a brand-new hour of "happening now," we are glad you are with us on this president's day. i'm jenna lee? i'm jon scout.

the white house claiming the president's plan is a back up in case congress fails to meet an agreement. details of the secret plan leaked out over the weekend raising pointed questions about the president's proposal and why it was leaked in the first place. >> leaks don't happen in washington by accident. this raises the question that many of us continue to wonder about. does the president really want a result or does he want another way to beat up republicans so that he can get political advantage in the next election? jon: bret baier is anchor of special report. let's talk to him about all of this. you know a thing or two about how leaks are designed to work. what is the thinking in washington about why this white house plan came out the way it did? >> reporter: listen, jon the white house has been adamant that they want a deal, they want a bill on immigration, that they want bi-partisan work on this. and they want to get it across the finish line. but you're right, leaks work in washington for reasons. and republicans are now

charging, and john mccain is not alone, that this is not helpful at all, that this leak over the weekend about a bill that is much more lube ral tha liberal than where the gang of eight the bi-partisan group working on the immigration plan is, where the white house legislation supposedly is, when that leak came out it's not helpful they say to the cause of getting that bill across the finish line. so you had mccain out, you had congressman paul ryan, the g.o.p. vice-presidental nominee, of course in 2012 saying that this is an indication that the president wants a tool to hit republicans over the head with and a political issue, and not a win on legislation. the white house is denying that completely. the white house chief of staff is saying that this is what the president said in las vegas, that it's a plan in case congress is not acting, that they are going to put forward a

bill and that this is a preparation and a back up plan, but the fact that it was out does not -- the reality is, does not help the process. jon: marco rubio the florida senator who is considered widely to be a prospect for the g.o.p. nomination the next time around, he says this thing is dead in the water if it shows up on congress' doorstep in the way it was leaked. now sometimes leaks are floated out there so that somebody can backtrack from a position, pull it back a little bit, and the second proposal actually looks good in comparison to the leak. might that be what is happening here? >> reporter: that's possible. you know, sometimes it is to move the ball one way or another. you're exactly right. and there are negotiations going on all the time, and you have two moderate republicans, two conservative republicans, two kind of moderate democrats, and two liberal democrats in this gang putting together a piece of

legislation that they think can get through both chambers of congress. now they are depict ago lot of progress on this. and before this leak over the weekend they were moving fairly rapidly. but the president and the white house, before this leak, really has only given them less than three weeks to work on this. and, you know, now the congress is on recess, and when they get back we'll see, we'll see where this stands. jon: yeah. >> reporter: i think you could be seeing some maneuvering here on positions. you had senator chuck schumer, a new york democrat saying that he wasn't bothered by the leak, of course, but this could be some horse trading on positions, you're right. jon: congress is not in session today but we'll see what happens over the next six hours before you bring us special report. bret baier, thank you. the latest political developments on special report every weekday 6pm eastern right

here on fox news channel. jenna: the convicted mastermind of the first world trade center bombing is now reportedly trying to use the u.s. legal system and is suing. julie banderas is live with the latest on this. >> reporter: apparently solitary confinement is just too much to handle for a terrorist who killed americans. and now he wants the american legal system to help him out. ramsey yousuf is serving a life sentence and suing for freedom arguing he should be allowed out of 24-hour solitary confinement at a colorado prison northern as the fortress in the rockies. the convicted terrorist was sentenced to life with no parole because 240 years nor his role in the bombing. in confidential government records obtained by the "los angeles times" he wrote the following and i quote. i request an immediate end to my solitary confinement and ask to be in a unit in an open prison environment where inmates are

allowed outside of their cell also for no lens 14 hours a day. i have been in solitary confinement in the u.s. since february 8th 1995 with no end in sight. i further ask not to be in handcuffs or leg irons when moved outside my cell, end quote. he reportedly claims his due process under the law is being violated because he has no chance to get out of solitary confinement despite 15 years of good behavior in prison. the lawsuit reportedly claims his time in solitary confinement has led to, quote, severe psychological trauma. no comment, though, jenna on the psychological trauma he caused to the families of six killed, and more than a thousand injured in the bombing he plotted along with al-qaida's help. back to you. jenna: fair point there to bring up. julie thank you. jon: a disturbing u.n. report detailing the rice in human rights abuses across war torn syria. according to the findings both government and rebel forces are guilty of war crimes there and the fighting is growing, quote,

increasingly sec tear kwr-p sectarian and radicalized. conor powell is following this. >> reporter: the u.n. report stops short of naming names. the actual list of violators remains a secret but the u.n. report concludes that syrians in leadership positions are likely responsible for war crimes. it says both sides are violating international law. investigators accuse syrians of murder targeting civilians, rape, hostage taking and torture. though the report does say that rebels are responsible to a lesser extent than the bashar al-assad ra sraoepl. it warned that the bloody civil war is spiraling downwards at a rapid pays. as the violence is becoming more sectarian fighters are more radicalized. there is growing evidence that there are members of al-qaida joining the ranks of the rebel. they want the u.n. security council to refer the violators to the international criminal court. that move, however, seems very unlikely. russia is a big backer of the bashar al-assad regime and is a

member of the u.n. security council so they can block any such move. the report highlights how bad things are and is warning, jon that things will only get worse. this is something that we have heard many, many times and with more than 70,000 dead already through this violence things are getting worse day-by-day. jon: conor powell reporting live from our mideast bureau. thank you. it's going to be two years this march since the beginning of that conflict in syria, making it the longest running regional revolt of the so-called arab spring. during that time the u.n. estimates nearly 70,000 people have been killed. with the insurgency against president bashar al-assad reportedly growing to more than 40,000 fighters. jenna: we also have this now, the latest coming out of capitol hill on a day that there is no sessions. we are getting some news from senator mike johans of nebraska saying he will not seek re-election coming up in 2014.

he joined the u.s. senate in 2009, served as agricultural secretary under george w. bush and as nebraska senator as well. he says between his service and his wife as well they've had 32 years in public service in general and he's ready for a now chapter. jon: slip of the tongue. served as governor,. jenna: what did i say. jon: you said senator. jenna: thank you, jon i'm glad someone is paying attention. you might be the only one. jon: he's also the guy who interestingly enough replaced chuck hagel in the senate. chuck hagel now the defense nominee. interesting turn of events there, republican from nebraska says he won't seek re-election. jenna: an open seat there. jon: justice delayed but not denied. this brave u.s. soldier was killed last may during an insider attack. it took a while, but nato finally found his killer. jenna: heated words between nbc's david gregory and senator john mccain. the latest on our news watch panel as it weighs in on the

continuing battle for answers on benghazi. jon: and more on the tragic apparent suicide of mindy mccready. dr. keith ablow joins us with some insight on what may have led to this desperate final act. ♪ singing] >> kuz i done everything i know to try and make you mine, and i think i'm going to love you for all time. ♪ ♪ i had enough of feeling embarrassed about my skin.

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jenna: we are learning more about a tragedy that shocked the country music world overnight. and so many more. 37-year-old singer mindy mccready died yesterday in an apparent suicide. it's a sad final chapter for a chart-topping performer whose career was often sidetracked by personal problems. all this comes just weeks after

mccready's boyfriend died under very similar circumstances. let's bring in dr. keith ablow, a psychiatrist and a member of our fox news medical a team. it's one thing to not be able to help someone who is suffering in silence, but mindy mccready's struggles were so well publicized, why couldn't she be helped? >> sad lease, jenna there are cases of fatal psychiatric illnesses, there are cases of cancer that can't be successfully treated. but another thing is this. this is someone who was hospitalized against her will apparently just several days before this tragic event. we should note that even if you do have a lot of resources, because we have disassembled the psychiatric system to the extent we have, it's tough to get help, because the profession is on the ropes. jenna: so based on what limited information we have, dr. ablow is there something that you've read that would have indicated that she was in such turmoil in

these last new days versus the su turmoil that she has been in obviously for several years that her stories have come up repeatedly on the news? >> listen. she's had past suicide attempts. she has been mired in drug and alcohol abuse. she's obviously been suffering with deep, deep major depression, and she recently lost her boyfriend seemingly also to a suicide, although those are considered to be mysterious circumstances, on that very same porch where she is found. that would seem to be a reason to hold somebody more and few days, which is apparently the length of time that she was held in this facility for an evaluation. now, i'm not saying that was wrong, but i can tell you that that is the cliche kind of treatment that is now offered up to people, a kind of revolving door in which no real effort is made to get to the bottom of things and solve them longer term. jenna: let's talk about some tools for the rest of us. if someone is going into a

situation like mindy mccready, she was being held for 48 hours, family and friends should they be asking, should they be held longer, what questions should we ask and how would we know, dr. ablow, if someone that we're seeing that is obviously in pain, are there any signs that would suggest, this is the real deal, this is a situation that could lead to suicide if someone doesn't take action? are there some telltale signs. >> let's go over it quickly, the signs of major depression. difficulty sleeping or too much sleep. change in appetite. low selfesteem, people who may verbal hraoeuz thoughts that theize thoughts that they can't go on any more. i have to coach families literally to send letters to attorneys to the psychiatric unit saying if you discharge our loved one we are prepared to seek legal redress if there is a bad event. why? because the whole system has thrown up its hands and says,

now when we discharge someone, when they say they are safe. if that's 48 hours after someone was committed to a facility as unable to care for herself, that she would meet with an untimely death potentially in 24 to 48 hours that is not going to be a very good standard. jenna: some things to think about there. >> and i think aye lost my ear piece. i'll see if i can reconstruct the problem here. jenna: if we can't -- >> sorry for that jenna. jenna: that is okay. we'll see if dr. ablow can get -- >> we've got it. i'll have to hold it here like it's blue and tape. jenna: you almost look like more of a doctor when you do that. >> i feel like marco rubio, it's okay. i haven't announced for president but he hasn't either. jenna: in live television anything can happen. mindy mccready was on the show celebrity rehab and part of the show's intention supposedly is to talk about addiction, and depression and how people get help. you see the celebrities go through their struggles on this reality show.

this show, people that have been done it, i believe there's been five deaths now of people that have gone through the show, gone through rehab and then have taken a turn for the worse. what is your thinking on reality television like that? is it helpful if that it exposes the struggles of depression and also addiction, or do you think it adds more problems than benefits? >> it would be the very rare reality show that can achieve that, jenna, a beneficial outcome. the truth is what it does is it blurs the boundary between reality and fantasy. it turns personal problems into the stuff of tabloid tv, it therefore minimizes it and it makes people take it less seriously. so, all of those shows that say, we are helping people, we are confronting personal problems, no what you're really doing is something akin to facebook allowing people to fix in a hraoeuz their problemnicks shopto fictionalize their

problems. jenna: thank you doctor, take care. jon: there are new concerns about president obama's healthcare law, this as small business owners are hit by a rarely talked about tax. plus, tom cruise sues a major tabloid over a story that raises questions about his daughter's mental health. our legal panel weighs in on the $50 million lawsuit that threatens to spill secrets about the star's relationships and his latest divorce settlement. if there was a pill to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients.

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justice for a u.s. soldier killed during an insider attack in afghanistan last year. nato forces killing and afghan

soldier suspect ned that attack along with an accomplice after tracking them down in eastern afghanistan. alejo thompson was killed during the attack last may. a father of two he was from yuma, arizona and based and fort carson, colorado. jenna: a battle between hollywood superstar tom cruise and one of the country's biggest tabloid publishers is getting increasingly ugly. he is suing life and style and in touch magazines for $50 million over cover stories accusing the actor of quote abandoning his daughter suri. cruise's attorney sent scathing letters to bower media each time they published these online saying quote, your con duck is vial and reprehensible and we intend to find you fully accountable in court. while your vicious attacks on mr. cruise's character are bad enough the fact that you didn't

consider th the affect these lies could have on his daughter are utterly reprehensible. the media sticking by its story and is threatening to expose secrets about cruise's private life. keefe devin is a defense attorney and former prosecutor. ted nelson is a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor as well. does tom cruise have a $50 million lawsuit against bower media? >> i believe he does. i say that in order to prevail on the defamation lawsuit have you to prove that the publisher, or whoever put this in writing actually knew that it was a false statement. as the discovery will disclose there was no proof that he abandoned his daughter. you know, in order to make such a vicious attack on someone's good character or reputation it's awful. and they don't have the proof of that and i'm sure that if cruise did not have enough evidence to show that that statement is false would he not have filed this lawsuit.

jenna: ted they might be guilty of bad word choice. the question is are they guilty with a false report of defamation here? it's interesting, tom cruise's own attorneys admit in a letter to bower media that they acknowledge in one of their articles that tom cruise and his daughter are very close, and that they speak every day, and so that was part of the story, it wasn't omitted from the story. they are just angry that it wasn't on the front cover. >> oh, absolutely, jenna, you're so right on this. this is what we're starting to see all the time here. whenever the wealthy who which are these magazines, who need them every day, every month to keep their name in front of the public, whenever these magazines finally say something that they totally don't agree with, anything that they kind of question this person, they go after them like a bully. we saw it with lance armstrong, we've seen it with tom cruise before. $50million, really? that is crazy talk. the bottom line is here this is what tom cruise does every time

somebody does something he doesn't approve of. he goes after their throat. he either sues them, or attacks them. he's done it before and he's doing it again. i mean, this is life & style, really? are we expecting them to be "the washington post" or the "wall street journal"? no. >> i think they crossed the line when they say he abandoned his daughter. you are talking about consequences not only to his reputation but to a small child. there is also evidence that he's very close with his other two children. jenna: interesting that you bring that up, kisha, that is what bower media is bringing up and saying to tom cruise's attorney, okay you want a case you've got a case. we want to know every time you visit your tkhauts and al daughter and all the phone calls you've had and they want to know all of it, they want the record. as to someone advising tom cruise is this a fight he wants to take? maybe he hasn't seen his daughter in a couple of weeks. if that's the throughout does that weaken his case in. >> i think to make a statement that he abandoned his daughter may be far-fetched.

to say he didn't see her as much during a period of time, i believe he was filming a movie in iceland, that doesn't mean he abandoned his daughter and i think they used a word to defame his character. jenna: is that word enough, ted? >> not even close, jenna. the bottom line the whole divorce didn't take nine months. you can't really abandon a child in nine months. what happened here is yeah he went away e didn't see the child. they are using a very strong word, abandon, but it's just a word. i'm sure that the time that he spent with his daughter before the divorce is a lot more, it's a lot more intensive than after it. and that's all they are making a point about. and if he does want to fight this. i'd love to see what these people can find out about him and his relationship with his daughter, and there is no way tom cruise as private of he is wants any of that stuff out. i can assure you that. jenna: what kind of resolution could come about if this doesn't go to trial and we don't know what happens over the next couple of weeks. your issue is with that word abandon. if one of the magazines came out

and said we used the wrong word, is the case over? >> with discovery it's pretty much putting your cards on the table. once both sides exchange discovery, i have a feeling that there will be some type of settlement. to say okay we were wrong to say you abandoned your daughter. it may not go all the way to a jury trial where a verdict of $50 million is going to be awarded, so i do think there may be some type of settlement. jenna: ted what, about suri? i know you've got the legal hat on, but you know it is a little girl. and granted she didn't have any choice of being born into this family and here she is on the front cover of all these to be pwhroeud magazines anthis tabloid, and she is like a first-grader. something seems off about that. >> it's horrible the way they parade their children around. the magazines are guilty of it, the celebrity -rs guilty oies are guilty of it. they are so worried about their goals and what they want to accomplish. i'd be worried about suri.

there are other things when you worry about suri, the scientology and all the other nonsense that goes on in this poor little girl's life. i would think this is an issue, something she has to deal w. again you go back to tom cruise and there is no way he's going to want this stuff brought out to the public. that's why -- they are not going to get a penny, he's not going to get a penny on this case. jenna: this is all just public lis publicity on his side. >> he's a bully. >> i think the publishers need to take responsibility and talking about children in that manner it's just -- it's ridiculous and unnecessary. so there needs thob som needs to be some liability there in my opinion. jenna: maybe instead of suri they could put jon scott. there are a lot of things out there they could pick, but not jon, there is no gossip. jon: i'm boring. jenna: thank you so much. interesting case. we'll see if they end up giving up that information. thanks, guys. jon: you've got to lead an interesting life to be on the

cover of those magazines. jenna: and you, i mean -- i mean -- totally boring. jon: boring. jenna: not at all. come on. there is a lot they could choose from besides suri and tom cruise. maybe they could make better choices. maybe, i don't know. jon: there is a major push to put healthier foods in school cafeterias. but don't ever forget the law of unintended consequences. these strict regulation are leading many schools to just get rid of their free lunch programs. plus fireworks about benghazi on a sunday talk show. our news watch panel looks into the media dustup. >> had a massive cover up on the part of -- >> a massive cover up of what susan rice said there was a lot of confusion. >> do you care, david? do you care, david? do you care? i'm asking you, do you care? i'm asking you, do you care whether four americans died?

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jon: there is growing concern a new tax on medical devicess could end up costing tens of thousands of jobs here in the united states. the tax is part of president obama's plan to pay for healthcare. the device makers are warning this tax will force layoffs, hurt the economy and stifle innovation. steve brown has take an look at it live in chicago, this medical device act that is in effect, went into effect earlier this year, right? 2.3%. doesn't sound like a lot. >> it did. that is on revenue and not profit or earnings. so it really has a larger bite

than 2.3%. then you have to factor in what happens in different size companies. for larger companies, they can layoff, and we've seen some of that out of the bigger companies. the smaller medical device makers it's a different kind of impact. listen. >> we can't do what some of the big ortho companies have done and just lay people off f. we did that we continue keep up with growth. we can slow down the pace of hiring and sadly what we have to do is to cancel development projects. >> projects like the one that resulted in the ability of bryce libby from warsaw, i indiana to be able to walk. he did this because of a surgical team and innovative new products put together by device manufacturers. these smaller companies say these kind of innovations will be slowed down. it hurts them both on their bottom line and what they are able to produce significantly different from all the larger companies that ultimately leads to their survival, jon.

jon: i know there is one town in indiana that's about really been hit hard by this tax. >> reporter: it is warsaw, indiana. you won't know it by looking at it. almost 50% of the medical devicess made in america, and 35% world side are made in and around warsaw, indiana. a lot of those companies are the smaller type of company. and for folks who are local leaders this new tax is a potential nightmare. >> it's a tremendous concern. you have the companies like orthopeatrics that it's really effecting their research bottom line. the larger companies, the big three you are talking about the impact it's had. >> the president himself has defended the tax this way. he says it's necessary in order to may for a portion of obama care which expand healthcare which is better for the nation. it also opens up a market of 30 million potential customers who will be covered under obama care. but device makers say that is not necessarily the case. take folks that make replacement

hips. those of those folks either have public or private insurance now. so the added 30 million really does haven't any impact on their bottom line. jon. jon: steve brown, what ha 0 story thank you. jenna: new federal regulations are forcing some school district to op out of the free lunch programs. the new rules target the obesity epidemic. they say the regulations are costing too much and students are refusing to eat the so-called healthier meals. jenna rick eats all his vegetables. >> reporter: apparently smaller portions and more fruits and vegetables aren't all that popular with kid. some schools say they can't afford to serve the food that student won't by or eat. the regulations are part of the healthy hunger-free kids act of 2010 aimed at reducing childhood obesity. cafeterias must serve larger portions of fruits and veggies,

serve all grains and a sandwich with a single slice of deli meat. in some district half the kid stopped buying meals creating a deficit of tens of thousands of dollars. >> i understand what the government was trying to do, my problem is i can't force a kid to eat their fruits and vegetables. when they think a 31-cent apple is what it cost me and i put it on their tray and they throw it in the garbage that is 31-cents the government pays me back it's a wash. >> reporter: district opted out creating their own men use without the federal subsidies trying to stay healthy while still offering more of what kids want. >> i do think that the legislation was well intended and at the macro level at the national level, yes there is a childhood obesity issue, yes there is a lack of childhood exercise. yes this is a national health issue. at the local levels of it doesn't always apply, and i think we need to figure out ways to differentiate. >> reporter: but areas with high poverty levels depend on federal subsidies to pay for the meals and can't afford to opt out.

the u.s. department of agriculture which helps run the program released a statement which read in part, usda encourages the few eligible school district that have chose to the to participate in the national school lunch program to take steps to make sure that all children have access to healthy affordable meals during the school day. the vast majority of school district are still taking part. jenna: very interesting, the half piece of seat today or the sandwich with the one slice of deli meet. >> reporter: i don't know how they do it i really don't. i'm going to get my vegetables right now. jon: after essentially being driven out of office over antics in his public and private life there is word now that former italian prime minister silvio berlusconi might have a shot to reclaim the post. amy kellogg following this story live from london. >> reporter: he is creeping closer. the recent poll showed that he is still throw trailing the frontrunner who is a former

communist, jon, by about five points. given the fact that he presided over italy's economic decline nor a significant amount of time, and all of the embarrassment that he caused many italians with the parties and all the trials, some say it's quite remarkable that he is still going strong. silvio berlusconi is in fact the consummate performer and a number of highly theatrical tv appearances in the past month or so helped him close the gap in the polls. here he is turning the tables, or the chair in this case on those who try to dish the dirt on him e. turns his tv interrogator into the dirty one wiping off the chair that the man who challenged him sat in. what is it about the 76-year-old billionaire italians love so much? some say they see something of themselves in him. others say he's popular because he is the anti-politician and arguably politically incorrect. there are the women who had no political experience like this former m whom he gat in other words his government, then his

legal problems with a conviction for fraud and ongoing trial for allegedly having sex with an underage prostitute and numerous other accusations, why do they excuse them all? >> part of italy which is voting for silvio berlusconi does not trust the judges. so of course, you know, trials and problems are problems if you're trusting the judges. if you do not you can believe that silvio berlusconi is right and the judges are wrong. >> reporter: many say that silvio berlusconi may be trying to stay in politics, jon in order to avoid possibly doing jail time. the resignation, announcement of the resignation by pope benedict the xvi has had a negative impact on his campaign because he needs visibility for his fireworks and much of rome seems to be more interested right now in who will be the next pope as opposed to who will be the next prime minister. jon: the frontrunner for prime minister a former communist? >> reporter: that is it.

jon: we think politics gets crazy in this country. amy kellogg in london, thank you. jenna: speaking of politics listen to the following comment from senator rand paul during an appearance on "fox news sunday." our news watch panel will discuss why a major media giant completely distorted this simple sentence. >> i think people want a little different face on immigration, frankly. they don't want somebody who wants to round people up, put them in camps and send them back to mexico. my husband and i can't stop eating 'em! what's...that... on your head? can curlers! tomato basil, potato with bacon... we've got a lot of empty cans. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

jon: the the push for answers about what led to the deadly attack on our consulate in benghazi getting intense on "meet the press" overt weekend. senator john mccain turning the tables on host david gregory asking some pointed questions of his own while explaining his claim of a cover up by the obama administration. listen. >> we've had two movies about getting osama bin laden and we don't even know who the people were who were evacuated from the consulate the next day after the

attack. so there are many, many questions, and we have had a massive cover up on the part of the administration. >> a massive cover up of up. wait a minute, susan rice said there was a lot of confusion. >> do you care, david. >> i'm asking you what is the cover up. >> do you care, david? i'm asking you do you care? i'm asking you do you care whether four americans died, the reasons for that. shouldn't people be held accountable for the fact that four americans died. >> you said there is a cover up, a cover up of what. >> of the information. >> a cover up of what? >> of the information concerning the deaths of four brave americans. the information has not been forth coming. you can obviously believe that it has. i know that it hasn't. and i'll be glad to send you a list of the questions that have not been answered, including what did the president do, and who did he talk to the night of the attack on benghazi. jon: let's talk about it with our news watch tomorrow about. jim pinkerton a contributing editor and writer for the american conservative magazine. alan colmes is host of the alan

colmes radio show and author of "thank the liberals for saving america." david gregory it would seem, jim does not believe that there is any kind of a cover up, is that too strong a word? >> well he's certainly saying that to senator mccain. i think he was certainly defending the obama administration which is kind of par for the course for nbc. and mccain is a feisty guy, isn't he? here he is in his mid to late 70s and still getting up every sunday to be on some show somewhere, and slugging away. jon: alan, if four of our diplomats and protective personnel had been killed during the bush administration wouldn't there be all sorts of a screaming fest from the media demanding information about why? >> i'm not sure we would have this kind of -- look we had during the bush administration we had deaths at numerous embassies and cons let's after 9/11 and i don't recall this ever happening post 9/11 when kets and attacks took place during the bush administration. so the answer is no. the answer is no.

and furthermore, what is wrong with david gregory trying to get an answer from john mccain about what exactly is the cover up? that doesn't mean he's defending the obama administration. mccain accused gregory of not caring about the death of four americans was totally out of line stphaoeu don'. jon: well i don't know it does seem that the media is not terribly concerned about the death of the first ambassador in 30 years. >> that's absurd. to say that people aren't concerned about the death of an ambassador simply because it seems like the right wing is playing gotcha here, they are trying to swift boat barack obama and the administration, they are holding up the confirmation of chuck hagel who he had nothing to do with benghazi over this issue. they look like keystone cops in the congress by doing this. jon: jim do you want to take that one one. they are holding up the chuck hagel nomination because they want answers. >> senator mccain said look hagel will probably get confirmed but first they have to and the these questions about benghazi.

that is sort of a fair trade. >> he had nothing to to with benghazi. >> more than the administration would have done otherwise. >> what does hagel have to do with benghazi. >> the only leverage they have. if you want this you've got to give us that, a bit of store trading. >> they are connecting dots that don't exist. jon: there is another "meet the press" question and that has to do with the use of chris matthews as a political commentator on that program. take a look the a a couple of examples. >> i watched them in those hearings and i saw joe mccarthy. i saw the way he was prosecute cuting the putting up evidence, innuendo, guilt by association. it was an undemocratic system the way john boehner played this. >> it's all the republicans fault. jon: he was talking about texas senator ted cruz. what do you think about that. >> why is it not okay to have chris matthews, but it is okay to have carlie fiorina.

if you have one you have the other isn't that fair & balanced? >> the problem with what matthews said there is he compared senator cruz to the late senator joe mccarthy. he accused his associates of being members of the secret police and spies and so on. i don't think cruz is accusing anyone of being on the payroll of the iranian government. there is a huge difference. if chris matthews can't see that he needs to -- >> the point is if you're going to make accusations have the facts to back it up don't say i have the list, or i have -- say exactly what the back up is for the accusations you're making. >> i agree with you alan. jon: media coverage of something rand paul had to say over the weekend, we'll be back with our panel on that. your doctor will say get smart about your weight. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes.

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jon: back now with our news watch panel.

jim pinkerton and susan g. komen. takpinker anton and alan colmes. >> i think people want a different face on immigration, they don't want somebody to round them up put them in camps and send them back to mexico. they don't want to give them welfare either, i don't. jon: when that quote went out it was under the headline senators want to round up immigrants, the quote came out this way, he sees some in his party favoring a 2016 candidate with an immigration policy that would round up people and send them back to mexico. now after that the ap had to issue a mandatory kill order. they missed a little word there, jim, the word don't in his quote. >> right there is a phrase you hear in news rooms, it's called too good to check. that is the story is so hot and juicy you love it so much you just want to go witness. i suspect that's what the ap did here. they had the chance to have a republican saying that other

republicans were a bunch of racists and haters and immigrant barbers, and s bash bashers. there is zeal to get that out there and hammer the g.o.p. they went with an inaccurate thing that they could have figured out was wrong or if they checked the videotape themselves or called senator paul's office, neither of which they apparently did at least before it was too late. jon: if somebody should have done more checking. >> it's easy to get a word wrong. the key word you said is suspect. you suspect it's a plot to make conservatives look bad in the media. the conservatives are always looking like we want to make rand paul look like an extremist. they put in the kill order, they took the story back, what more do you want. it could happen to anybody, you leave a word out. jon: how many people saw that headline and went away with a wrong impression of the senator. >> mark twain says a hal lie

gets halfway around the world before it gets its boots on. jon: i'm not going to contradict mark twain. thank you. jenna: we hope you are enjoying this day off from work for president's holiday. why is this an annual three-day weekend? we'll tell you next. >> announcer: meet tom, a proud dad whose online friends all "like" the photos he's posting. oscar likes tom's photos, but he loves the access to tom's

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